Extended reality markers for enhancing social engagement

ABSTRACT

In one example, a method for generating and displaying markers in XR environments to enhance social engagement among users includes presenting, by a processing system, an extended reality environment to a first user, wherein the extended reality environment combines elements of a real world environment surrounding the first user with elements of a virtual world, inferring, by the processing system, a marker to be associated with a second user in the extended reality environment, wherein the marker indicates information about the second user; and modifying, by the processing system, the extended reality environment to incorporate the marker in a manner that is apparent to the first user.

The present disclosure relates generally to extended reality (XR)systems, and relates more particularly to devices, non-transitorycomputer-readable media, and methods for generating and displayingmarkers in XR environments to enhance social engagement among users.

BACKGROUND

Extended reality (XR) is an umbrella term that has been used to refer tovarious different forms of immersive technologies, including virtualreality (VR), augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR), and cinematicreality (CR). Generally speaking, XR technologies allow virtual world(e.g., digital) objects to be brought into “real” (e.g., non-virtual)world environments and real world objects to be brought into virtualenvironments, e.g., via overlays or other mechanisms. XR technologiesmay have applications in fields including architecture, sports training,medicine, real estate, gaming, television and film, engineering, travel,and others. As such, immersive experiences that rely on XR technologiesare growing in popularity.

SUMMARY

In one example, the present disclosure describes a device,computer-readable medium, and method for generating and displayingmarkers in extended reality (XR) environments to enhance socialengagement among users. For instance, in one example, a method includespresenting, by a processing system, an extended reality environment to afirst user, wherein the extended reality environment combines elementsof a real world environment surrounding the first user with elements ofa virtual world, inferring, by the processing system, a marker to beassociated with a second user in the extended reality environment,wherein the marker indicates information about the second user; andmodifying, by the processing system, the extended reality environment toincorporate the marker in a manner that is apparent to the first user.

In another example, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storesinstructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor toperform operations. The operations include presenting an extendedreality environment to a first user, wherein the extended realityenvironment combines elements of a real world environment surroundingthe first user with elements of a virtual world, inferring a marker tobe associated with a second user in the extended reality environment,wherein the marker indicates information about the second user; andmodifying the extended reality environment to incorporate the marker ina manner that is apparent to the first user.

In another example, a device includes a processor and acomputer-readable medium storing instructions which, when executed bythe processor, cause the processor to perform operations. The operationsinclude presenting an extended reality environment to a first user,wherein the extended reality environment combines elements of a realworld environment surrounding the first user with elements of a virtualworld, inferring a marker to be associated with a second user in theextended reality environment, wherein the marker indicates informationabout the second user; and modifying the extended reality environment toincorporate the marker in a manner that is apparent to the first user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The teachings of the present disclosure can be readily understood byconsidering the following detailed description in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example network related to the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 illustrates an image of an example extended reality environmentthat may be generated by the extended reality server of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 illustrates a flowchart of a method for generating and displayingmarkers in extended reality environments to enhance social engagementamong users in accordance with the present disclosure; and

FIG. 4 depicts a high-level block diagram of a computing devicespecifically programmed to perform the functions described herein.

To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have beenused, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common tothe figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In one example, the present disclosure enhances social engagement amongusers in extended reality (XR) environments by generating and displayingmarkers that allow users to advertise information about themselves(e.g., background, interests, etc.). As discussed above, immersiveexperiences that rely on XR technologies are growing in popularity.However, social interactions in the XR space are often poorly matched tocommon indicators that in-person social interactions assume natural, andthis may make it difficult for users in the XR space to identify otherusers with whom they share common interests. For example, a person caneasily identify other fans of his favorite sports teams in person, e.g.,by observing branded clothing, styles, and the like. In the XR space,however, information about sports fandoms may be hidden or representedin a non-intuitive manner (e.g., numerically, in a third-partydatabase).

Moreover, software manifestations like trackers and other analytics maybe deployed to follow users through the XR space, often unbeknownst tothe users. This may allow the software manifestations to observe privateconversations, new environments, and other events without the users;knowledge. For instance, if a first user clicks on a tracker and laterjoins a second user in a virtual room, the tracker code may follow thefirst user into the room, unbeknownst to the first user and/or thesecond user. This may make some users wary of social engagement in theXR space.

Examples of the present disclosure visually alter the avatar or visibleonline presence of a user in an XR environment to display informationabout the user. The alteration may take the form of a marker thatindicates the information. For instance, the marker may comprise agraphic similar to an emoji. The graphic may indicate information aboutthe user, such as the user's background (e.g., alma mater, home town,etc.), interests (e.g., favorite sports teams, hobbies, etc.), and/orcurrent connectivity conditions (e.g., current network connection speed,applications or services currently logged into, etc.). The informationindicated by the graphic may be learned from the user's profile,observation of the user's current online behavior, or in other ways.Moreover, the graphic may be associated with the user automatically(e.g., by a computing system that controls or has some input into the XRenvironment), in response to a request by the user (e.g., such that theuser controls what is displayed to other users), or in response to arequest by another user in the XR environment (e.g., in which case, thegraphic may be visible only to the other user who requested the marker).In one example, the user is given the opportunity to approve any markerbefore that marker is associated with the user.

To better understand the present disclosure, FIG. 1 illustrates anexample network 100, related to the present disclosure. As shown in FIG.1, the network 100 connects mobile devices 157A, 157B, 167A and 167B,and home network devices such as home gateway 161, set-top boxes (STBs)162A, and 162B, television (TV) 163A and TV 163B, home phone 164, router165, personal computer (PC) 166, and so forth, with one another and withvarious other devices via a core network 110, a wireless access network150 (e.g., a cellular network), an access network 120, other networks140 and/or the Internet 145.

In one example, wireless access network 150 comprises a radio accessnetwork implementing such technologies as: global system for mobilecommunication (GSM), e.g., a base station subsystem (BSS), or IS-95, auniversal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) network employingwideband code division multiple access (WCDMA), or a CDMA3000 network,among others. In other words, wireless access network 150 may comprisean access network in accordance with any “second generation” (2G),“third generation” (3G), “fourth generation” (4G), Long Term Evolution(LTE) or any other yet to be developed future wireless/cellular networktechnology including “fifth generation” (5G) and further generations.While the present disclosure is not limited to any particular type ofwireless access network, in the illustrative example, wireless accessnetwork 150 is shown as a UMTS terrestrial radio access network (UTRAN)subsystem. Thus, elements 152 and 153 may each comprise a Node B orevolved Node B (eNodeB).

In one example, each of mobile devices 157A, 157B, 167A, and 167B maycomprise any subscriber/customer endpoint device configured for wirelesscommunication such as a laptop computer, a Wi-Fi device, a PersonalDigital Assistant (PDA), a mobile phone, a smartphone, an email device,a computing tablet, a messaging device, a wearable smart device (e.g., asmart watch or fitness tracker), a gaming console, and the like. In oneexample, any one or more of mobile devices 157A, 157B, 167A, and 167Bmay have both cellular and non-cellular access capabilities and mayfurther have wired communication and networking capabilities.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, network 100 includes a core network 110. Inone example, core network 110 may combine core network components of acellular network with components of a triple play service network; wheretriple play services include telephone services, Internet services andtelevision services to subscribers. For example, core network 110 mayfunctionally comprise a fixed mobile convergence (FMC) network, e.g., anIP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) network. In addition, core network 110 mayfunctionally comprise a telephony network, e.g., an InternetProtocol/Multi-Protocol Label Switching (IP/MPLS) backbone networkutilizing Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) for circuit-switched andVoice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony services. Core network 110may also further comprise a broadcast television network, e.g., atraditional cable provider network or an Internet Protocol Television(IPTV) network, as well as an Internet Service Provider (ISP) network.The network elements 111A-111D may serve as gateway servers or edgerouters to interconnect the core network 110 with other networks 140,Internet 145, wireless access network 150, access network 120, and soforth. As shown in FIG. 1, core network 110 may also include a pluralityof television (TV) servers 112, a plurality of content servers 113, aplurality of application servers 114, an advertising server (AS) 117,and an extended reality (XR) server 115 (e.g., an application server).For ease of illustration, various additional elements of core network110 are omitted from FIG. 1.

With respect to television service provider functions, core network 110may include one or more television servers 112 for the delivery oftelevision content, e.g., a broadcast server, a cable head-end, and soforth. For example, core network 110 may comprise a video super huboffice, a video hub office and/or a service office/central office. Inthis regard, television servers 112 may interact with content servers113, advertising server 117, and XR server 115 to select which videoprograms, or other content and advertisements to provide to the homenetwork 160 and to others.

In one example, content servers 113 may store scheduled televisionbroadcast content for a number of television channels, video-on-demandprogramming, local programming content, gaming content, and so forth.The content servers 113 may also store other types of media that are notaudio/video in nature, such as audio-only media (e.g., music, audiobooks, podcasts, or the like) or video-only media (e.g., imageslideshows). For example, content providers may upload various contentsto the core network to be distributed to various subscribers.Alternatively, or in addition, content providers may stream variouscontents to the core network for distribution to various subscribers,e.g., for live content, such as news programming, sporting events, andthe like. In one example, advertising server 117 stores a number ofadvertisements that can be selected for presentation to viewers, e.g.,in the home network 160 and at other downstream viewing locations. Forexample, advertisers may upload various advertising content to the corenetwork 110 to be distributed to various viewers.

In one example, XR server 115 may generate digital overlays that may besuperimposed over images of a “real world” environment (e.g., a realenvironment surrounding a user) to produce an extended realityenvironment. For instance, the digital overlays may include renderingsof virtual objects that do not exist in the “real world” environment,such as graphics, text, and the like. However, when the digital overlaysare superimposed over images of the “real world” environment (e.g., overa live video stream), it may appear to a viewer that the virtual objectsare present in the “real world” environment. In one example, the digitaloverlays generated by the XR server may include markers that indicateinformation about people, places, or objects that are present in the“real world” environment. The digital overlays may also includegraphics, text, and the like that do not function as markers (e.g., donot convey any information about people, places, or objects that arepresent in the “real world” environment), but that serve some otherpurpose in the XR environment (e.g., interactive gaming or trainingelements).

FIG. 2, for instance, illustrates an image of an example extendedreality environment 200 that may be generated by the extended realityserver 115 of FIG. 1. In this example, the “real world” portion of theXR environment 200 depicts a plurality of individuals 204 ₁-204 ₄(hereinafter individually referred to as an “individual 204” orcollectively referred to as “individuals 204”) in an outdoor setting.The “virtual” portion of the XR environment may depict a plurality ofmarkers 202 ₁-202 ₆ (hereinafter individually referred to as a “marker202” or collectively referred to as “markers 202”), which areillustrated as being shaded in.

As illustrated, the markers 202 may indicate information about theindividuals with whom the markers 202 are associated. Each differentmarker 202 may have a different meaning, and may take an appearance thatis associated with that meaning. For example, the marker 202 ₁, whichresembles a super hero cape, may indicate that the individual 204 ₂ is afan of fantasy and/or adventure media (e.g., movies, comics, televisionshows, etc.). The marker 202 ₂, which resembles a set of wiggly lines,may indicate that the individual 204 ₂ has recently experienced one ormore failed attempts to log into an XR system or application (e.g., ashosted by the XR server 115). The markers 202 ₃ and 202 ₆, whichresemble keys, may indicate that the individuals 204 ₃ and 204 ₄ havelogged into the XR system or application with authenticated accounts.The marker 202 ₄, which resembles a thumbs up, may indicate that theindividual 204 ₃ is a frequent gamer. The marker 202 ₅, which resemble adog's snout and ears, may indicate that the individual 204 ₄ is a doglover.

Referring back to FIG. 1, in one example the XR server 115 may collectdata provided by users of the network 100. The collected data may beprovided directly to the XR server 115 by the users, e.g., via themobile devices 157A, 157B, 167A, and 167B, the PC 166, the home phone164, the TVs 163A and 163B, and/or XR devices 170. Alternatively, thedata may be retrieved from network storage, e.g., application servers114, by the XR server 115. For instance the collected data may compriseuser profiles maintained by a network service (e.g., an Internet serviceprovider, a streaming media service, a gaming subscription, etc.),portions of social media profiles maintained by a social media web site(e.g., a social networking site, a blogging site, a photo-sharing site,etc.). The data may indicate information about the users, such as theusers' backgrounds (e.g., alma mater, home town, etc.), interests (e.g.,favorite sports teams, hobbies, etc.), and/or current connectivityconditions (e.g., current network connection speed, applications orservices currently logged into, etc.).

In a further example, the XR server 115 may generate a marker for anindividual who appears in an image of a “real world” setting, where theappearance of the marker is designed to indicate at least some of thecollected information about the individual. For instance, as discussedabove, if the individual's user profile indicates that he is a doglover, the XR server may generate a marker for the individual thatresembles a dog's snout and ears. In one example, the XR server 115 maygenerate the marker automatically (e.g., in response to the individuallogging into an XR system or application), in response to a request bythe individual (e.g., such that the individual controls what isdisplayed to other users of the XR system or application), or inresponse to a request by another user of the XR system or application(e.g., in which case, the marker may be visible only to the other userwho requested the marker). In one example, the individual may be giventhe opportunity to approve any marker before that marker is associatedwith the individual.

In one example, any or all of the television servers 112, contentservers 113, application servers 114, XR server 115, and advertisingserver 117 may comprise a computing system, such as computing system 400depicted in FIG. 4.

In one example, the access network 120 may comprise a Digital SubscriberLine (DSL) network, a broadband cable access network, a Local AreaNetwork (LAN), a cellular or wireless access network, a 3^(rd) partynetwork, and the like. For example, the operator of core network 110 mayprovide a cable television service, an IPTV service, or any other typeof television service to subscribers via access network 120. In thisregard, access network 120 may include a node 122, e.g., a mini-fibernode (MFN), a video-ready access device (VRAD) or the like. However, inanother example node 122 may be omitted, e.g., for fiber-to-the-premises(FTTP) installations. Access network 120 may also transmit and receivecommunications between home network 160 and core network 110 relating tovoice telephone calls, communications with web servers via the Internet145 and/or other networks 140, and so forth.

Alternatively, or in addition, the network 100 may provide televisionservices to home network 160 via satellite broadcast. For instance,ground station 130 may receive television content from televisionservers 112 for uplink transmission to satellite 135. Accordingly,satellite 135 may receive television content from ground station 130 andmay broadcast the television content to satellite receiver 139, e.g., asatellite link terrestrial antenna (including satellite dishes andantennas for downlink communications, or for both downlink and uplinkcommunications), as well as to satellite receivers of other subscriberswithin a coverage area of satellite 135. In one example, satellite 135may be controlled and/or operated by a same network service provider asthe core network 110. In another example, satellite 135 may becontrolled and/or operated by a different entity and may carrytelevision broadcast signals on behalf of the core network 110.

In one example, home network 160 may include a home gateway 161, whichreceives data/communications associated with different types of media,e.g., television, phone, and Internet, and separates thesecommunications for the appropriate devices. The data/communications maybe received via access network 120 and/or via satellite receiver 139,for instance. In one example, television data is forwarded to set-topboxes (STBs)/digital video recorders (DVRs) 162A and 162B to be decoded,recorded, and/or forwarded to television (TV) 163A and TV 163B forpresentation. Similarly, telephone data is sent to and received fromhome phone 164; Internet communications are sent to and received fromrouter 165, which may be capable of both wired and/or wirelesscommunication. In turn, router 165 receives data from and sends data tothe appropriate devices, e.g., personal computer (PC) 166, mobiledevices 167A and 167B, XR device 170, and so forth. In one example,router 165 may further communicate with TV (broadly a display) 163Aand/or 163B, e.g., where one or both of the televisions is a smart TV.In one example, router 165 may comprise a wired Ethernet router and/oran Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11(Wi-Fi) router, and may communicate with respective devices in homenetwork 160 via wired and/or wireless connections.

In one example, the XR device 170 comprises a device that is capable ofrendering a virtual environment that, when experienced simultaneouslywith a surrounding real environment, creates an XR environment. Forinstance, the XR device 170 may comprise a head mounted display (HMD).In addition, any of the mobile devices 157A, 157B, 167A, and 167B maycomprise or may double as an XR device. For instance, a gaming device ora mobile phone may render XR content.

It should be noted that as used herein, the terms “configure” and“reconfigure” may refer to programming or loading a computing devicewith computer-readable/computer-executable instructions, code, and/orprograms, e.g., in a memory, which when executed by a processor of thecomputing device, may cause the computing device to perform variousfunctions. Such terms may also encompass providing variables, datavalues, tables, objects, or other data structures or the like which maycause a computer device executing computer-readable instructions, code,and/or programs to function differently depending upon the values of thevariables or other data structures that are provided. For example, oneor both of the STB/DVR 162A and STB/DVR 162B may host an operatingsystem for presenting a user interface via TVs 163A and 163B,respectively. In one example, the user interface may be controlled by auser via a remote control or other control devices which are capable ofproviding input signals to a STB/DVR. For example, mobile device 167Aand/or mobile device 167B may be equipped with an application to sendcontrol signals to STB/DVR 162A and/or STB/DVR 162B via an infraredtransmitter or transceiver, a transceiver for IEEE 802.11 basedcommunications (e.g., “Wi-Fi”), IEEE 802.15 based communications (e.g.,“Bluetooth”, “ZigBee”, etc.), and so forth, where STB/DVR 162A and/orSTB/DVR 162B are similarly equipped to receive such a signal. AlthoughSTB/DVR 162A and STB/DVR 162B are illustrated and described asintegrated devices with both STB and DVR functions, in other, further,and different examples, STB/DVR 162A and/or STB/DVR 162B may compriseseparate STB and DVR components.

Those skilled in the art will realize that the network 100 may beimplemented in a different form than that which is illustrated in FIG.1, or may be expanded by including additional endpoint devices, accessnetworks, network elements, application servers, etc. without alteringthe scope of the present disclosure. For example, core network 110 isnot limited to an IMS network. Wireless access network 150 is notlimited to a UMTS/UTRAN configuration. Similarly, the present disclosureis not limited to an IP/MPLS network for VoIP telephony services, or anyparticular type of broadcast television network for providing televisionservices, and so forth.

To further aid in understanding the present disclosure, FIG. 3illustrates a flowchart of a method 300 for generating and displayingmarkers in extended reality environments to enhance social engagementamong users in accordance with the present disclosure. In one example,the method 300 may be performed by an XR server that is configured togenerate digital overlays that may be superimposed over images of a“real world” environment to produce an extended reality environment,such as the XR server 115 illustrated in FIG. 1. However, in otherexamples, the method 300 may be performed by another device, such as theprocessor 402 of the system 400 illustrated in FIG. 4. For the sake ofexample, the method 300 is described as being performed by a processingsystem.

The method 300 beings in step 302. In step 304, the processing systemmay receive a request to present an XR environment. The request maycomprise, for example, a first user logging into an XR system orapplication. Alternatively, the request may comprise an explicit requestfrom the first user to begin presenting the XR environment, where thefirst user is already logged into an XR system or application.

In step 306, the processing system may begin presenting the XRenvironment in response to the request. In one example, presenting theXR environment involves superimposing a digital overlay over images(e.g., a video) of a “real world” environment (e.g., as may be capturedby a camera that provides the images to the processing system). Thedigital overlay may comprise one or more virtual objects that are notpresent in the “real world” environment, but that appear to be presentin the “real world” environment when the digital overlay issuperimposed.

In step 308, the processing system may initialize a marker tracker andregistration system in conjunction with the XR environment. The markertracker and registration system may detect markers that are associatedwith other users of the XR system or application, and may take actionbased on the detected markers and/or on preferences of the first user.

For instance, the marker tracker and registration system may waypointtoward or away from markers or types of markers specified by the firstuser. As an example, if the first user's profile indicates that thefirst user is a fan of a specific baseball team, the marker tracker andregistration system may locate and identify to the first user otherusers in the XR environment whose markers indicate that the other usersare also fans of that baseball team. The first user may alsospecifically ask the marker tracker and registration system to locateother fans of the baseball team. Alternatively, if the first user'sprofile indicates that the first user does not wish to experience acertain type of content (e.g., explicit content, swearing, etc.), thenthe marker tracker and registration system may locate and avoididentifying to the first user (or filter out) other users in the XRenvironment whose markers indicate that the other users have presentedintroduced that type of content into the XR environment. Filtering outother users may involve muting the other users, preventing the otherusers from sending content to the first user, and/or preventing thefirst user from sending content to the other users.

In another example, the marker tracker and registration system maypresent the first user with a summary or report of the other users whoare presented in the XR environment. For instance, the summary may takethe form of a bar graph, where the bar graph indicates the numbers ofother users in the XR environment who have specific markers associated(e.g., x other users are associated with a marker that indicates strongnetwork connectivity, y other users are associated with a marker thatindicates animal lovers, z other users are associated with a marker thatindicates interest in super hero movies, etc.).

In step 310, the processing system may infer a marker to associate withat least one user (e.g., the first user or another, second user) who ispresent in the XR environment. In one example, the marker may beinferred by examining a profile or other identifying informationassociated with the at least one user. For instance, the at least oneuser may have a profile maintained by the XR system or application thatindicates the at least one user's interests, demographic information(e.g., age, location, gender, etc.), usage history, and the like.Alternatively, the profile or similar information may be retrieved froma source that is external to the XR system or application, ifidentifying information about the at least one user is known. Forinstance, the at least one user's profile may identify social mediaaccounts or other sources of information associated with the at leastone user.

In another example, the marker may be inferred from a request by the atleast one user. For instance, the at least one user may explicitly askto be associated with specific markers. In one example, a menu ofavailable markers may be presented to the at least one user, and the atleast one user may select one or more of the markers from the menu. Themarkers requested by the at least one user may be displayed to all otherusers in the XR environment or to specific subsets of users in the XRenvironment, depending upon the preferences of the at least one user.

In another example, the marker may be inferred from a request by anotheruser, i.e., other than the at least one user. For instance, the firstuser may request that a specific marker be associated with the at leastone user, where the marker may only be visible to the first user. As anexample, if the first user finds the at least one user to be funny, thefirst user may request that a marker such as a laughing emoji beassociated with the at least one user. Alternatively, if the at leastone user swears, and the first user does not want to interact with otherusers who swear, the first user may ask that a marker such as a grawlixbe associated with the at least one user. In further examples, theprocessing system may learn from markers that are specifically requestedby the first user in this manner, and may begin to automatically infermarkers for other users even when the first user does not request it.For instance, continuing the example of the marker that indicatesswearing, if the processing system detects another user swearing, theprocessing system may automatically infer that that other user shouldhave an associated marker to indicate swearing. Thus, behaviorallearning techniques may be employed to learn the types of markers thatmay be meaningful to the first user, and the types of behaviors withwhich the markers are associated.

In another example, a marker may be inferred from biometric information.For instance, the processing system may be in communication with sensorsthat monitor the at least one user's heartbeat, facial expressions, skinconductivity, and the like. Thus, if the at least one user's facialexpression indicates that the at least one user is happy, a markerindicating happiness (e.g., a smiling emoji) may be inferred for the atleast one user.

In another example, the marker may be required by the XR system orapplication. For instance, markers that indicate whether a user islogging into the XR system or application via a secure connection (e.g.,via a virtual private network or authenticated by another service) maybe required. In another example, markers of different colors may be usedto indicate the speed of a user's network connection.

In another example, the marker may indicate a social or proximalrelationship between users. For instance, if the at least one user isthe parent of another user who is also present in the XR environment,the at least one user may be associated with a marker indicating theparental relationship (which, in turn, may help to identify potentiallysensitive audiences). In another, example, the marker may indicatewhether a software tracker or other potentially malicious software isassociated with the first user.

In another example, the marker may indicate historical behaviors of theat least one user. For instance, if the at least one user routinelyorders tea in a coffee shop, the marker could indicate that the at leastone user is a tea drinker. The marker could then assist the coffee chopemployees in better serving the at least one user as a customer.

Markers may be ephemeral or persistent. For example, markers thatindicate the first user's present state may change or evolve over time.As an example, if the first user logs in to the XR system or applicationin the morning, after going for a run, a marker associated with thefirst user in the morning might comprise a sweatband superimposed overthe first user's head. However, if the first user remains logged in forseveral hours, the sweatband marker may disappear after some predefinedperiod of time (e.g., one hour). On the other hand, other markers, suchas markers that indicate the security of the at least one user's networkconnection, may persist for the duration of the at least one user'spresence in the XR environment. Thus, not all markers are static.

In step 312, the processing system may modify the XR environment toincorporate at least one marker that was inferred in step 310 in amanner that is apparent to the first user (e.g., so that the first usercan infer information about the second user without directly interactingwith the second user). For instance, the processing system may modifythe visual representation of the at least one user (e.g., the at leastone user's avatar) in the XR environment. In one example, modificationof the visual representation may involve generating or adding to adigital overlay, such that the digital overlay includes the at least onemarker. The marker may appear on or near the visual representation ofthe at least one user as a badge or photo filter, e.g., as illustratedin FIG. 2.

In some examples, rather than rendering a visible marker, the processingsystem may generate a marker that takes another form, such as an audiblemarker or a tactile marker. For instance, in some examples, the markermay comprise an audio clip that is played when the first user approachesor attempts to interact with (e.g., clicks on) the visual representationof the at least one user. As an example, if the at least one user is adog lover, an audible marker associated with the at least one user maysound like a dog barking. In other examples, the marker may comprisesome form of tactile or haptic feedback that is generated when the firstuser approaches or attempts to interact with the visual representationof the at least one user. For instance, if the at least one user'snetwork connection is not secure, a haptic marker associated with the atleast one user may generate a vibration in a controller or other deviceoperated by the first user.

In some examples, the processing system may solicit permission from theat least one user before associating a marker with the at least oneuser. For instance, if the marker is a marker that is required by the XRsystem of application, the processing system may notify the at least oneuser of the required markers that will be associated with the at leastone user. The at least one user may choose to stay in the XR environment(e.g., tacitly giving permission for the markers) or may choose to leavethe XR environment (e.g., tacitly declining permission for the markers).Additionally, if a user other than the at least one user requested themarker, the processing system may notify the at least one user thatanother user has requested association of the marker with the at leastone user.

In step 314, the processing system may receive feedback from the firstuser regarding the markers. For instance, the feedback may comprise arequest that an automatically generated marker (associated with thefirst user or with the at least one user, when the at least one user isnot the first user) be removed. Alternatively, the feedback may comprisea request to modify, rather than remove, a marker.

In step 316, the processing system may determine whether the first userhas generated a signal to indicate that he or she is leaving the XRenvironment. For instance, the first user may pause the XR environment,may log out of the XR system or application, or may lose networkconnectivity.

If the processing system determines in step 316 that no signal has beengenerated to indicate that the first user is leaving the XR environment,then the method 300 may return to step 306 and may proceed as describedabove to continue presenting the XR environment, including markers.However, inference and generation of the markers may be modified inresponse to the user feedback received in step 314 and/or in response tochanges in the XR environment (e.g., changes in user behaviors, newusers entering the XR environment, existing user leaving the XRenvironment, etc.).

If, however, the processing system determines in step 316 that a signalhas been generated to indicate that the first user is leaving the XRenvironment, then the method 300 may end in step 318.

Thus, the method 300 allows social implications to be manifested in XRavatars as visual, audible, or tactile interaction markers. This allowsusers to easily recognize family, friends, other users who share similarinterests, other users with whom users may not want to interact (forsecurity, behavioral, and/or other reasons), and the like, withoutverbose interactions. The markers may be generated automatically by aprocessing system, based on system rules and interactions, which mayallow the markers to be more trustworthy than user-generated markers.

Examples of the present disclosure may also allow markers to be easilyvisually conveyed within social experiences, without requiring explicittext or speech. For instance, a group of users may be “tagged” or markedwith a marker to indicate that the group comprises guests at a birthdayparty. This may allow markers to be used to organize surprise parties,flash mobs, and the like.

Further examples of the present disclosure may enable the enforcement ofparental control in XR environments. For instance, users with a certainmarker (e.g., a “child” marker) may be prohibited from interacting withcertain types of content or performing certain types of actions in theXR environment. Conversely, certain markers could be used to permitaccess to real-world systems such as Internet or Things (IoT) systems,locks, software applications, security cameras, or the like.

Although not expressly specified above, one or more steps of the method300 may include a storing, displaying and/or outputting step as requiredfor a particular application. In other words, any data, records, fields,and/or intermediate results discussed in the method can be stored,displayed and/or outputted to another device as required for aparticular application. Furthermore, operations, steps, or blocks inFIG. 3 that recite a determining operation or involve a decision do notnecessarily require that both branches of the determining operation bepracticed. In other words, one of the branches of the determiningoperation can be deemed as an optional step. However, the use of theterm “optional step” is intended to only reflect different variations ofa particular illustrative embodiment and is not intended to indicatethat steps not labelled as optional steps to be deemed to be essentialsteps. Furthermore, operations, steps or blocks of the above describedmethod(s) can be combined, separated, and/or performed in a differentorder from that described above, without departing from the examples ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 4 depicts a high-level block diagram of a computing devicespecifically programmed to perform the functions described herein. Forexample, any one or more components or devices illustrated in FIG. 1 ordescribed in connection with the method 300 may be implemented as thesystem 400. For instance, a server (such as might be used to perform themethod 300) could be implemented as illustrated in FIG. 4.

As depicted in FIG. 4, the system 400 comprises a hardware processorelement 402, a memory 404, a module 405 for generating and displayingmarkers in extended reality environments to enhance social engagementamong users, and various input/output (I/O) devices 406.

The hardware processor 402 may comprise, for example, a microprocessor,a central processing unit (CPU), or the like. The memory 404 maycomprise, for example, random access memory (RAM), read only memory(ROM), a disk drive, an optical drive, a magnetic drive, and/or aUniversal Serial Bus (USB) drive. The module 405 for generating anddisplaying markers in XR environments to enhance social engagement amongusers may include circuitry and/or logic for performing special purposefunctions relating to the operation of a home gateway or XR server. Theinput/output devices 406 may include, for example, a camera, a videocamera, storage devices (including but not limited to, a tape drive, afloppy drive, a hard disk drive or a compact disk drive), a receiver, atransmitter, a speaker, a display, a speech synthesizer, an output port,and a user input device (such as a keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, and thelike), or a sensor.

Although only one processor element is shown, it should be noted thatthe computer may employ a plurality of processor elements. Furthermore,although only one computer is shown in the Figure, if the method(s) asdiscussed above is implemented in a distributed or parallel manner for aparticular illustrative example, i.e., the steps of the above method(s)or the entire method(s) are implemented across multiple or parallelcomputers, then the computer of this Figure is intended to representeach of those multiple computers. Furthermore, one or more hardwareprocessors can be utilized in supporting a virtualized or sharedcomputing environment. The virtualized computing environment may supportone or more virtual machines representing computers, servers, or othercomputing devices. In such virtualized virtual machines, hardwarecomponents such as hardware processors and computer-readable storagedevices may be virtualized or logically represented.

It should be noted that the present disclosure can be implemented insoftware and/or in a combination of software and hardware, e.g., usingapplication specific integrated circuits (ASIC), a programmable logicarray (PLA), including a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or astate machine deployed on a hardware device, a computer or any otherhardware equivalents, e.g., computer readable instructions pertaining tothe method(s) discussed above can be used to configure a hardwareprocessor to perform the steps, functions and/or operations of the abovedisclosed method(s). In one example, instructions and data for thepresent module or process 405 for generating and displaying markers inXR environments to enhance social engagement among users (e.g., asoftware program comprising computer-executable instructions) can beloaded into memory 404 and executed by hardware processor element 402 toimplement the steps, functions or operations as discussed above inconnection with the example method 300. Furthermore, when a hardwareprocessor executes instructions to perform “operations,” this couldinclude the hardware processor performing the operations directly and/orfacilitating, directing, or cooperating with another hardware device orcomponent (e.g., a co-processor and the like) to perform the operations.

The processor executing the computer readable or software instructionsrelating to the above described method(s) can be perceived as aprogrammed processor or a specialized processor. As such, the presentmodule 405 for generating and displaying markers in XR environments toenhance social engagement among users (including associated datastructures) of the present disclosure can be stored on a tangible orphysical (broadly non-transitory) computer-readable storage device ormedium, e.g., volatile memory, non-volatile memory, ROM memory, RAMmemory, magnetic or optical drive, device or diskette and the like. Morespecifically, the computer-readable storage device may comprise anyphysical devices that provide the ability to store information such asdata and/or instructions to be accessed by a processor or a computingdevice such as a computer or an application server.

While various examples have been described above, it should beunderstood that they have been presented by way of example only, and notlimitation. Thus, the breadth and scope of a preferred example shouldnot be limited by any of the above-described example examples, butshould be defined only in accordance with the following claims and theirequivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: presenting, by a processingsystem, an extended reality environment to a first user, wherein theextended reality environment combines elements of a real worldenvironment surrounding the first user with elements of a virtual world;receiving, by the processing system, a request from the first user toassociate a marker with a second user in the extended realityenvironment, wherein the marker indicates information about the seconduser, wherein the information about the second user includes aconnectivity status of the second user, wherein the connectivity statuscomprises at least one of: a current network connection speed of anetwork connection of the second user, an application currently loggedinto by the second user or a service currently logged into by the seconduser; and modifying, by the processing system, the extended realityenvironment to incorporate the marker, wherein the marker indicates theconnectivity status of the second user to the first user in a mannerthat is visible to, audible to, or tactilely felt by the first user butis not visible to, audible to, or tactilely felt by other users of theextended reality environment who are interacting with the second user.2. The method of claim 1, wherein the marker allows the first user toinfer the information about the second user without directly interactingwith the second user.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:reviewing, by the processing system, a profile of the second user forthe information about the second user.
 4. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: reviewing, by the processing system, data from a source thatis external to the extended reality environment for the informationabout the second user.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:learning, by the processing system, an event that triggered the requestfrom the first user; and inferring, by the processing system, anassociation of the marker with a third user in the extended realityenvironment, based on the learning.
 6. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: receiving, by the processing system, a request from thesecond user to associate another marker with the second user.
 7. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, by the processingsystem, biometric information about the second user from a sensor,wherein the biometric information indicates the information about thesecond user.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the information about thesecond user further includes an interest of the second user.
 9. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the information about the second user furtherincludes demographic information about the second user.
 10. The methodof claim 1, wherein the information about the second user furtherincludes a behavior of the second user in the extended realityenvironment.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the modifying comprises:generating, by the processing system, a visual digital overlay includingthe marker; and superimposing the visual digital overlay on at least oneof the elements of the real world environment.
 12. The method of claim1, further comprising: modifying, by the processing system, the markerto indicate a change in the information about the second user.
 13. Anon-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions which, whenexecuted by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations, theoperations comprising: presenting an extended reality environment to afirst user, wherein the extended reality environment combines elementsof a real world environment surrounding the first user with elements ofa virtual world; receiving a request from the first user to associate amarker with a second user in the extended reality environment, whereinthe marker indicates information about the second user, wherein theinformation about the second user includes a connectivity status of thesecond user, wherein the connectivity status comprises at least one of:a current network connection speed of a network connection of the seconduser, an application currently logged into by the second user or aservice currently logged into by the second user; and modifying theextended reality environment to incorporate the marker, wherein themarker indicates the connectivity status of the second user to the firstuser in a manner that is visible to, audible to, or tactilely felt bythe first user but is not visible to, audible to, or tactilely felt byother users of the extended reality environment who are interacting withthe second user.
 14. A device comprising: a processor; and acomputer-readable medium storing instructions which, when executed bythe processor, cause the processor to perform operations, the operationscomprising: presenting an extended reality environment to a first user,wherein the extended reality environment combines elements of a realworld environment surrounding the first user with elements of a virtualworld; receiving a request from the first user to associate a markerwith a second user in the extended reality environment, wherein themarker indicates information about the second user, wherein theinformation about the second user includes a connectivity status of thesecond user, wherein the connectivity status comprises at least one of:a current network connection speed of a network connection of the seconduser, an application currently logged into by the second user or aservice currently logged into by the second user; and modifying theextended reality environment to incorporate the marker, wherein themarker indicates the connectivity status of the second user to the firstuser in a manner that is visible to, audible to, or tactilely felt bythe first user but is not visible to, audible to, or tactilely felt byother users of the extended reality environment who are interacting withthe second user.
 15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium ofclaim 13, wherein the marker allows the first user to infer theinformation about the second user without directly interacting with thesecond user.
 16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim13, the operations further comprising: learning an event that triggeredthe request from the first user; and inferring an association of themarker with a third user in the extended reality environment, based onthe learning.
 17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim13, wherein the information about the second user further includes aninterest of the second user.
 18. The non-transitory computer-readablemedium of claim 13, wherein the information about the second userfurther includes demographic information about the second user.
 19. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein theinformation about the second user further includes a behavior of thesecond user in the extended reality environment.
 20. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the operations furthercomprise: modifying the marker to indicate a change in the informationabout the second user.